Car coupling



Feb. 23 1926. 1,574,150

A. HoYEs CAR COUPLING Filed Sept. 24, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 jwuwntoz Feb. 23,1926. 1,574,150

A. HOYES CAR COUPLING Filed Sept.. 24:, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ff' uw :J1/mento@ Auddley Hvye n.7 wel momqx Patented Feb. 23, 1926.

UNITED stares Fics.,

AUDDLEY HOYES, 0F BELLE VERNON, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR COUPLNG.

, Application filed September 24, 1923.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, AUDDLEY Horns, a citizen of the United States, residing at Belle Vernon, in the county of Fayette and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car Couplings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to car couplings and is intended'more particularly` for application to mine cars. The object of the invention is to provide a coupling of vsimple construction and compact arrangement which may be produced at a low cost and in use will prove efficient and' not apt to get out of order. Another object ot' the invention is .to provide a coupling which may be opened or released without requiring the operator to pass between the cars and which will be automatically actuated by impact of the cars to effect coupling. Other objects ofthe invention will appear 'incidentally in the course of the following description, and the invention resides in certain novel features which will be particularlypointed out in the appended claims.

In the annexed drawings.- which illustrate one embodiment of my invention,

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away and in section, of portions of two mine cars coupled by my device.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the coupling;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged central longitudinal vertical section showing the coupling in closed position;

Fig. 4lis a similar view showing the coupling in open position and indicating by dotted lines the movement whereby the coupling is closed;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the drawhead, and

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the cover or cap plate for the drawhead.

The mine cars, indicated at 1, are ofthe usual construction, each being equipped at one end with an extension or drawhead 2 upon which is pivoted or hinged a coupling link 3. At the opposite end of each car is secured a drawhead 4C into which the link 3 enters when the cars 4are coupled and in which are mounted instrumentalities to engage the link and retain it in the coupled position. As shown most clearly in Figs. 1 and 5, the drawhead 4 is open at its outer end, as indicated at 5, whereby toadmit the Serial No. 664,565.

the ground so that clogging of the working parts will4 be avoided. The back of the drawhead presents a solid wall 7 which is adapted to abut the adjacent end of the car body and at the lower end of this solid back wall provide lugs 8 which are adapted to fit within the draft `rigging of the car and be secured thereto by a transverse bolt 9 or other fastening devices. The topl of the drawhead is also longitudinally slotted, as indicated at 10, to accommodate some of the working parts, but this slot- 10 is normally covered bya cap plate or cover 11 which is bolted upon the drawhead so that it`may be easily removed if access to the interior of the drawhead is necessary or desirable for anyreason. This cover or cap plate minimizes the entrance of dirt or other foreign matter into the drawhead and protects the working parts against possible damage from falling objects. The front end-ofthe cap plate 11 is suitably shaped to engage with the forward portion of the drawhead and is also provided with a slot or notch 12 through which the latch 13 may play; The latch 13 is preferably a fiat-sided bar or pin Ihaving' its lower end beveled on its front side, as indicated at 11i, and having an eye or stirrup 15 pivoted in its upper end. The eye or stirrup 15 is engaged by a chain or other liexible connection 16 which extends rearwardly and is attached to the central crank 17 of a rock shaftlS which is mounted upon the end of the car body and is equipped at its ends with handles 19 whereby it may be rocked whenever the coupling is to be released. It will be readily understood that the handles 19 are located at the sides of the car body so that the rock shaft `may be manipulated without the voperator passingbetween the cars, personal injury and possible loss of life being thereby avoided. Within the slotted lportion 10 of the drawh'ead is pivotally mounted a latch carrier or swinging arm 20 which is forked at its front end,

as shown at 21, whereby it may span theV latch 13 and be pivotally connected therewith. The rear end of the arm or latch carrier 2O is pivotally secured in the drawhead, as will be readily understood, and below the carrier or arm 20 adjacent the front of the drawhead is a transverse stop pin or rest 2.2

upon which the arm may impinge and thereby be limited in its downward movement.

lVithin the lower longitudinal slot 6 of the drawhead is pivotally mounted a dog which is in the form of an angle lever fulcrumed upon a cross pin 23 in the drawhead and having its forward or `lower arm 2i beveled at its free end, as shown at 25. The said `arm 2i of the angle lever or dog constitutes 10 the coupling or link-engaging member, while the arm 26 constitutes an impact or operating arm. At a point in rear of the vertical plane of the fulcrum 23 and below the horizontal plane of said fulcrum, a kstop 27 is provided in the drawheach'and this stop may be integral with the drawhead, as will be readily understood. hen the coupling is open, the rear edge of the dogor angle lever abuts the stop 27, as shown in Fig. e, and the impact or op- -erating armof the lever is thereby held ;in upright position to receive the impact :of the link in the act of coupling. As-

sumingv the parts to be in the position shown in Fig. e, when the cars to be coupled -are brought together, the link f3 will enter the drawhead and the free end of the link will impinge against the impact or operating arm 26 of the dog` and swing the dog 30 about its fulcrum, as indicated by the dotted lines. The swinging movement of the dog will, of course, carry the arm Q4; thereof into a substantiallyupright position so that it will pass through the link and, consequently', 55 extend across the plane ofthe same so that, if it be subsequently attempted to withdraw vthe link, the shoulder or closed end thereof will be'brought into contact with the said arm and the withdrawal will be resisted. 40, As the dog swings about its fulcrum, the beveled-end 25 of the coupling arm will ride against the beveled end'14 of the latch 13 and the latch will, consequently, be raised so that the dog may continue its swinging movement and pass to the rear of the latch, assuming the position shown in Fig. 8. As -soon as thedog clears the lower end of the latch,- the latch will drop by gravity to a position in front of the dog, as' shown in .Fig., 3, whereupon the reverse movement of `the .dog will be positively prevented and withdrawal of the link, consequently, can not occur. If the cars are to be uncoupled, .the operator rocks the shaft 18 so that the crank 17 will swing upwardly and exert a Vpull through the chain'v16 and the eye 15 (upon thelatch to raise the latter, as` indil catedby dotted lines in Fig. 3, whereupon a pull exerted upon either car will cause the 00, link 3 to swing the dog about its fulcrum in a'direction opposite to that previously described so that the coupling arm will return totherposition shown in full lines in Fig. f 4 and permit withdrawal of the link. It will be readily noted that my coupling is composed of few parts, and these parts are simple in construction and: are compactly arranged so that it is not apt to get out of order.. The coupling operation is accomplished automatically and does not require the entrance of the operator between the cars to set the parts, it being noted that, when the cars are uncoupled, the dog or coupling member is left in `position to be engaged by the coupling link in a later coupling operation. It is also to be noted that, after the cars are coupled, accidental release is positivelyl prevented inasmuch ai the coupling dog and the latch will be in abutting relation with opposed flat surfaces and, consequently, the coupling link cannot be released until the latch is positively withdrawn. lt is also to be not-ed that the bottom of the drawhead is open so that coal or other material cannot collect therein through careless loading of the Cars, and

itis further to be noted that the sides of the drawhead are open to accommodate the relative lateral movement of the coupling link and the drawhead when the ears are passing around a curve so that, while this relative lateral movement is fully accommodated, the cars will not become uncoupledi. To further accommodate the angular relation of the cars when they are passing around a curve, the link 3 is relatively wide so that its closed working end is approximately the same width as the drawhead, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, thereby providing ample room for lateral movement of the link withoutl binding upon the coupling dog or straining an of the parts. It will be readily noted ythat the construction of the drawhead presents a floor upon 'which the free end of the link lrests so that it will be supported without imposing a Abreaking strainupon the `coupling dog and at the same'time ample room isprovided for relative vertical play of the link and the drawhead tf: accommodate the relative movement of the cars inpassing over irregular or rough tracks. i

Referring particularly to Figs. 3 and i, it will be notedfthat,` when cars are coupled, the impact arm of the coupling dog lies flush with the floor of the drawhead so that the link is firmly supported and may move in a straight line in the act of coupling or uncoupling. vlt will also be `'noted that the impact arm of the dog is at a right angle to the coupling arm and that the pivot impact arm and the junction of the two arms of the dog, so that, if the latch be raised clear of the dog, the dog will at once drop to .uncoupledposition, the liXed stop 27, however, arresting the dropping action so that the impact arm will be held in upright position to be-properly engaged by the link in a subsequent coupling operation.

llO

23 is located between the vfree end ofthe s The rocking' arm 2O is not ai lever to lift the latch but acts principally to limit the downward movement of the latch by engagement with the stop 22 and to hold the latch forward to properly cooperate with and engage the dog.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is l. ln a car coupling a drawhead comprisving upper and lower spaced parts and a rear connectingwall, the upper and lower parts having longitudinal slots, the slot 1n the upper part beingV closed at its outer end,

a dog` disposed within the slot of the 'lower part and having an arm projecting upwardly at a right angle therefrom and pivoted adjacent the dog within the slot, means` for supporting the dog in horizontal position, a vertical latch supported against the closed end of the slot in the upper part forwardly of the arm projecting from the dog, and a. carrier within the slot in the upper part and pivoted to the latch and to the said upper part of the drawhead.

2. A car coupling comprising a drawhead having a flat bottom, a coupling dog consisting of an angle lever ,having an impact arm and a coupling arm substantially at a right angle to the impact arm7 a fixed transverse pivot in the drawhead passing through the impact arm of the dog at a point removed from the coupling arm, afiXed stop in the path of the dog,` below the pvot and in rear of the vertical plane of the pivot, a vertically movable latch mounted in the top of the drawhead, a swinging carrier arm pivoted at its front end to the latch and pivoted `at its rear end in the topof the drawhead, and a stop in. the drawhead below the carrier, the latch having its front face beveled at its lower end whereby it will be raised upon impact of the coupling arm ofthe dog and the rear face of the latch being Hat whereby to abut and restrain the dog in coupled position.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature.

AUDDLEYl HoYEs. -[L. sg 

